'Your Presence Has An Impact': Maple Leafs Highlight Importance Of Annual Easter Seals Skate

Bobby McMann was smiling as he raced a child from the blue line to the red line during the Toronto Maple Leafs' annual Easter Seals skate on Thursday.

It's the 45th time the Maple Leafs have collaborated with the charity, which raises money for programs and services, like mobility and accessibility equipment funding, accessible and inclusive summer camps, post-secondary scholarships and more.

Last year, the event raised over $200,000 and more than 400 participants skated and posed for photos with their favorite players.

"It's a nice experience when you can interact with the community," Joseph Woll, who's done work with the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in the past, said before the skate on Thursday.

"I think what's cool is I've done some work with Holland Bloorview with the kids working with disabilities and different things like that, so I understand how special it is for the kids and how much it can impact their day. It's good to do this. And no practice today, so we get to focus on the kids."

Woll also shared that over his career, he's learned what these events mean to the children and families.

"Your presence has an impact, which is really special because imagine how much more your words have," the 26-year-old said.

"Just being here is that much of an impact, so it is awesome and how much it brightens their day when you interact with them a little bit, and again, just by being here. It's a special event."

Steven Lorentz is in his first season with Toronto after signing with the club in the summer. The Kitchener, Ontario-born forward grew up as a fan of the Maple Leafs and is joyful to give back to the fans in forms such as this.

"A bunch of smiling faces out there. They're happy to be here and we're happy to go out there and skate with them. It's for such a good cause," he said.

"You have so much gratitude in just being able to do that because, again, we see ourselves as just normal dudes that show up to the rink, and we know that people put us on a pedestal.

"We're in the spotlight a lot and we realize that, in such a big market, there's a lot of people that do look up to us, so any way we can help the community, doing stuff like this, making one kid's day just that little bit better, it makes us feel just as good. So, we're happy to do this stuff."

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